Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Hits New 1-Year High at $73.67

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $73.67 and last traded at $73.59, with a volume of 848790 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $71.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Brinker International from $62.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Brinker International from $53.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Brinker International from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Brinker International from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.76.

Brinker International Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.56. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.48.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 154.29% and a net margin of 3.55%. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,953 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total value of $215,480.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 38,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,784,827.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,953 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total value of $215,480.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 38,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,784,827.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel S. Fuller sold 3,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total value of $249,303.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 34,764 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,106.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,714 shares of company stock worth $3,637,623 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Brinker International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $64,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,785 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,430,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 632,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,311,000 after acquiring an additional 53,657 shares during the last quarter.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.